Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! (2012)

I had a great time with this silly, just-go-with-it charmer. So adorable & fun! Gary was tolerant, but was not quite as into as I. We both agree that we can't wait to watch this with grandkids, though. Not only will they love it, but it will be a lot less embarrassing when there's a 6-year-old on the couch cracking up along with us.

B+

The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)

Silly movie starring Bob Hope as a serial gambler getting into trouble and hoofing it back up to New York to earn some money to dig himself out of that trouble. Fun but super slight.

B-

In a World... (2013)

The daughter of one of the best-known voice-over artists is trying to make her own way in the business. She's kind of hapless -- both professionally and romantically -- and her father's a competitive asshole. And that's really about it.

Gary and Nathan liked it a lot more than I did. For me it was just fine.

B-

Whiplash (2014)

Spectacular film. Gary and I actually applauded in the theater the first time we saw it. I seriously don't remember the last time I was so wrapped up in a story that my life kind of fell away and I entered the world on screen completely. I don't know anything about jazz and I don't have any desire to learn, but when I was in the theater? It was everything.

Miles Teller was phenomenal as the kid with the loving father, simple life, but huge dream of not just being great but being ONE of the greats. Every scene works. Every actor is terrific. There's not a misstep anywhere. Saw it with Gary, talked about it all day. Saw it with my younger son, talked about it all day. When I heard my older son saw it, we talked about it at length -- it's a film that evoked something in us. It's heavy with meaning. It felt big. It still feels big. I wanna watch it again right now.

A+

The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)

Janice isn't doing so great -- she's out of work and is forced to move in with her married little sister who, of course, can tell Janice exactly what she should be doing and whom she should be dating. Tim isn't doing much better -- he's a street performer who paints himself silver and walks on stilts to be the Giant Mechanical Man and his girlfriend has just moved out. Both wind up working at the zoo to make ends meet and, wouldn't you know it, they kinda like each other. But there are misunderstandings, of course. Thankfully they're fairly mild and are overcome by the time the credits roll. Woo.

Chris Messina and Jenna Fischer are winning as the leads, but there's just not enough here to matter.

C+

Starbuck (2013)

Note: this is the original French-language film, not the Vince Vaughn remake

A man in his 40s, still living as though he's in his 20s, finds out he's fathered more than 500 kids through sperm donation and is now the subject of a class-action lawsuit by more than 100 of those children wanting to know his identity.

I was won over by this film, which works hard to warm your heart and doesn't do it cheaply. Starbuck (the name under which he donated) grows as a person and it's believable.

B

Nightcrawler (2014)

Dayum, this was a ride. For the first couple of scenes I thought Gyllenhaal might be overdoing the weirdo routine a bit, but I just had to give it a minute before I was completely on board.

Seriously. What an amazing movie. It was frightening and original and Gary and I couldn’t stop talking about it. And I don't care too much for car chases, but this definitely had the best one I've ever watched -- I was leaning at corners and stomping on my floor brake. Just wow.

A

Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

I had the same problem with this move that I did with Safety Not Guaranteed: the very last scene. Well, the very last scene AND the drum soundtrack. Oh, I also wasn't wild about the conceit of it trying to look like one long take.

But it's a very cool film with incredible performances that went a tad weirder than I was into.

B+